TUSKON US paid a visit to Wisconsin. On the first day, Prof. Abdullah Yavas and TUSKON Executive Director Hakan Tasci spoke at a panel on Turkish Economy and Turkish-American Economic Partnership. Prof. Yavas emphasized the sound macroeconomic management in Turkey and discussed the policy measures taken to keep Turkey away from the global financial turmoil.
Mr. Tasci, during the same panel talked about the strength of the Turkish economy, the core industries where Turkey has a comparative advantage and potential cooperation areas for Turkish and American businesses. Also, Mr. Tasci mentioned a few details about TUSKON's world renowned World Trade Bridge and invited Wisconsion businesses... continue »

Friday April 26 2013, American Turkish Council President James Holmes convened the panel "Turkish American Trade Partnership: opportunities and challenges." AmCham president Ekim Alptekin, CitiBank Vice President, FSECC US Chair Rick Johnston and TUSKON US Executive Director Hakan Tasci were speakers during the panel.

Mr. Johnston informed the participants regarding his experience being the chair of the U.S.-Turkey Framework for Strategic Economic and Commercial Cooperation. The commission consists of private sector representatives from US and Turkey who meet once a year and discuss the potential barriers on trade and investment and how to improve trade partnerships. Mr. Alptekin ... continue »

The third annual Turkic American Convention began on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., in an opening gala cruise with the participation of politicians from the US, Turkey and the Turkic republics. Organized by the Turkic American Association (TAA), which represents six regional federations and over 200 community associations, cultural centers, business associations and educational institutions in the US, the opening gala hosted around 400 guests.

Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who spoke at the opening on the Potomac River, said, "I'm here to extend a hand of friendship, to indicate to you that we will be introducing the 21st Century Energy Caucus in Congress with members from bo... continue »

February 24, 2013: The Turkic American Alliance (TAA), the largest national Turkic organization in the US, is to hold its third annual Turkic American Convention in Washington, D.C., on March 12-13 in cooperation with the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON).
Prior to the convention, leading policymakers from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan will discuss issues focusing on energy, trade and regional development in a daylong forum.

According to Faruk Taban, the president of the TAA, which represents six regional federations and over 200 community associations, cultural centers, business associations an... continue »

A conference in Brussels has been told that Turkey has a "crucial" role in resolving the long-running Cyprus problem.

Speaking on Tuesday January 22, 2013, former Cypriot official Sotos Zackheos also said the EU had a "substantial" part to play in finding a resolution to the protracted efforts to reunify the island.

With presidential elections due to be held in two weeks in the Greek-run southern part of Cyprus, he said, "Turkey has to make efforts to allay the fears of Greek Cypriots."

Cyprus has been divided for almost four decades and, until now, all efforts to reunify the island, under the auspices of the United Nations (UN), have failed.

The latest ro... continue »

On January 31, 2013, members discussed their views in regards to Turkey. Deviating from his party line, which has given contradictory signals on civilian-military relations and coup trials, a CHP deputy has declared that if the Turkish army were to leave its barracks and intervene in politics again, “the people will hate it.” Faik Tunay, the CHP's İstanbul deputy, who spoke at a panel in Brussels organized by Brussels-based European Policy Center (EPC) and the Brussels branch of the Turkish Confederation of Industrialists and Businessmen (TUSKON), said one of the basic reasons for the problems facing Turkish democracy was military interventions in politics.

Speaking at the panel, “T... continue »

On October 23, 2012, Arizona Turkish American Chamber of Commerce (AZTA) and Arizona Chamber of Commerce organize an event at Phoeninx to inform Turkish American and American business community on US Turkish partnership. TUSKON US Executive Director Hakan Tasci gives a lecture on US Turkish Economic and Political partnership and the importance of the civil society in developing business ties between the US and Turkey. Arizona Chmaber of Commerce is an integral part of the business society in the state and their advocacy is well herd on state level institutions. Arizona Chamber also talks about their efforts in the community and AZTA president discuss their role in the state.... continue »

Participating in a major business forum in İstanbul on October 12, 2012, a large group of businesspeople from Kazakhstan looked for opportunities for cooperation with their Turkish counterparts. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan address the business people before the bilateral matchmaking program in Istanbul. 100 business people from Kazakhistan and 1000 from Turkey are present at the forum.

Also present at Friday's meeting was Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan as well as Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Addressing the participant businesspeople, Erdoğan said the two countries are d... continue »

Deputy Prime Minister participated and gave a speech at TUSKON's Association President's Meeting in IStanbul On September 29, 2012. Babacan's main focus is to defend the recent hikes in natural gas and electiricity prices and emphasized the importance of a balanced budget.

Babacan also discusses the success story of TUSKOn in the last couple of years and talks about the importance of an active civil society in business development and policy making. TUSKON by increaasing the membership from 15 thousand to 43 thousand in two years time is a success story in itself and shows how valuable is the institution to the members.

There were international visitors to the program as... continue »

Hollings Center and Henry M. Jackson Foundation organized a conference on US-Turkey commercial relationship on May 10, 2012 at the Cosmos Club in Washington DC.

In the first panel of the conference, a panel of speakers including Rick Lorenz, Seyfettin Gursel and Hakan Tasci talked about the Turkish economy and the health of Turkish business sector. TUSKON US Executive Director Hakan Tasci talked about the fast growing business at the heart of Anatolia and praised the success of Turkish entrepreneurial spirit.

Rest of the panels which included speakers like Cherie Rusnak from the Commerce Department and Journalist Etyen Mahcupyan from TESEV fo... continue »

European Union leaders have once again called for a new constitution that will focus on fundamental freedoms and rights to sort out Turkey's frozen problems at the fifth anniversary of the opening of the TUSKON-Brussels branch. The program, which featured speakers Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, European Commission Vice President Olli Rehn, European Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Füle and TUSKON President Rızanur Meral, focused on Turkey's economic success and the political challenges facing the country.
Praising TUSKON for the timely organization on the eve of the EU's launch of Positive Agenda, Füle underlined the significance of a new constitution... continue »

US Secretary of Commerce John Bryson has praised the economic progress Turkey has made in the past decade, adding that it is certainly not unreasonable to expect Turkey to become one of the 10 largest economies in the world.
Speaking at a lunch jointly organized by the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) and the progressive think tank Center for American Progress (CAP) in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Bryson said, “Ankara's goal to push Turkey into the top 10 economies by its centennial in 2023 -- the ‘10 by 23' plan -- is an entirely plausible target.”

Turkey is currently the 16th largest economy of the world with a g... continue »

The process of drafting a new and democratic constitution for Turkey was discussed at a meeting in the European Parliament on Tuesday, March 20, which was jointly organized by TUSKON and the Friends of Turkey.

The EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Commission’s former co-chair Joost Lagendijk, Deputy Director-General in the Enlargement Directorate-General Joost Korte, Alojz Peterle, chairman of the Friends of Turkey, TUSKON Secretary-General Mustafa Günay, Kurdish intellectual and writer Kemal Burkay and academic Bekir Berat Özipek were among the participants of the event.

In his speech at the gathering, Korte said Turkey must not waste what he cal... continue »

A panel discussion on Turkey's constitutional process was organized jointly by TUSKON and CAP on November 29. Moderated by Michael Werz of CAP, the panelists, including Heather Hurlburt, Yavuz Baydar, Ergun Babahan and Omer Taspinar, covered various aspects of the current constitutional development in Turkey, such as the legislative process of drafting a constitution, the Kurdish issue and Turkish minorities, as well as human rights and freedom of the press.
... continue »

As part of Turkic American Alliance's Annual convention, held in Grand Hyatt Washington on November 30, a gala reception was given for US Congressmen and Senators along with the other guests attending the convention. 57 US Representative and 7 US Senators attended the reception, where Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek and members of the Turkish parliament were also present.

In the cultural section of the reception, US Congress members had Turkish coffee, tried on traditional Turkish attire and had their names written by Turkish calligraphy artists.

Jim McDermott, a US Democratic representative from Washington's 7th congressional district, ... continue »

This year's Turkic American Alliance Annual Convention was held in partnership with TUSKON on November 30. The Convention began with a series of day long series of panels on US-Turkey relations covering political, economic and energy aspects of the bilateral relations.

The first panel, moderated by Joshua Walker was on the Turkish New foreign Policy. Speaking at the panel, Abdulhamit Bilici said he did not agree with the criticisms that reforms in Turkey were the result of a top-down process, noting that the reforms had been adopted in response to demands from the people. He advised the participants to examine country reports on Turkey by the EU. Also... continue »

TUSKON has joined forces with the European Policy Center (EPC) to organize a two-day high level conference relating to Turkey- EU relations on November 17 and 18.

The conference featured a number of high ranking officials from both the EU and Turkey side as speakers. From the EU side European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Stefan Füle and European Commissioner for Trade Karel de Gucht as well as deputies of the European Parliament Graham Watson, Anneli Tuulikki Jäätteenmäki and Sandra Kalniete and from the Turkish side European Union Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis and Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan addressed the participants of t... continue »

Balkan Leaders Summit organized by TUSKON, and FEBA brought together the prime ministers of six Balkan countries, including Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in New York City on September 22. TUSKON president spoke at the Balkan Leaders Summit and emphasized the importance of economic ties among Balkan Countries.

At the meeting, other participating leaders in addition to Erdoğan were Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha, Bosnia and Herzegovina Prime Minister Nikola Spiric, Montenegrin Prime Minister Igor Luksic, Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and Kosovar Prime Minister Hashim Thaci. The events, including symposiums and seminars, were held at one of the largest... continue »

A panel jointly organized by TUSKON Europe Office and European Policy Centre analyzed the election results while discussing the aftermath of the elections. The panel was held on June 17 in Brussels with the participations of Sahin Alpay, a columnist for Turkish daily Zaman, Semih Idiz, a columnist for Milliyet and Andrew Duff, a member of the European Parliament.
In his speech, Sahin Alpay said that it had been a historic election and Turkey had taken a decisive step towards consolidating a liberal democracy. "The number of women deputies has risen to 77 from 50, which is a remarkable result.", he also added.
Also in the panel Semih Idiz, said that it i... continue »

In recent years, TUSKON has been very active in connecting Turkish businesses to the world by organizing trade and investment forums, a primary activity of TUSKON to bring together business people for bilateral meetings, in Turkey and abroad. On June 23, Istanbul was the home for one these forums where 40 businessmen from US, 30 businessmen from 10 Balkan countries and 200 businessmen from Turkey met with each other to discuss opportunities for trade and economic cooperation. The event was jointly organized by TUSKON and FEBA (Federation of BAlkan American Associations).
Speaking at the forum President of FEBA Aras Konjhodzic said that Turkey had grown impr... continue »

The president of one of Turkey's leading business associations has said Turkish-Chilean trade volume has the potential to more than double and reach $1 billion in the next three years.

Speaking at "Chile-Turkey Free Trade Agreement: Opportunities for Bilateral Economic and Commercial Relations," a seminar organized in Istanbul on June 28, Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) President Rızanur Meral underlined what he called a "substantial but little used" economic cooperation potential between one of the Muslim world's most populous nations and this key Latin America country.

A free trade agreement (FTA) between Turk... continue »

As part of the private sector for the UN LDC IV Conference in Istanbul Tuskon organized 4 panels on May 10 and May 12. The panels, which discussed a variety of issues ranging for SME development to organized industrial zones, received attention from the conference participants.

The first panel was on "SME Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development" which was co hosted by KOSGEB. President of KOSGEB Mustafa Kaplan, Vice President of KOSGEB Metin Satir, Tuskon President Rizanur Meral, Berrak Cekin of Hidolik Promatik Machinery and Hikmet ilkonur of Ozkardesler paper were the panelists, who discussed SME development and successful implementation methods for LDC’s, How government en... continue »

Mustafa Günay, secretary general of the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON)said economic cooperation established between nations is more important than steps taken by politicians.

Speaking at the Turkey-Africa Seminar TUSKON organized together with the London-based Chatham House and Sabancı University’s İstanbul Policy Center (IPC) on Thursday in İstanbul, he praised the noteworthy performance Turkey’s economy has shown since the early 2000s, after it was hit by two consecutive domestic crises, and the initiatives Turkish entrepreneurs have started to take not only in the country’s immediate vicinity but in more distant pla... continue »

Swedish Trade Minister Ewa Björling, who visited İstanbul at the invitation of the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON), has said her government is eager to see Swedish companies cooperate with TUSKON members in third countries, underlining that she was impressed by the achievements of Turkish entrepreneurs abroad.

At a dinner meeting organized by TUSKON in İstanbul on Wednesday, April 13, she said, “The countries need each other.” An industrial zone project in the Gaza Strip, that has experienced dire economic conditions under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade over the past few years, and a similar one in Pakistan, which was rec... continue »

Turkey's long stalled EU accession process was discussed in a panel jointly organized by the Friends of Turkey group in the EU parliament and TUSKON.
Speaking at the Panel, titled: " Breaking the Stereotypes and Building Bridges between Turkey and the EU", Alain Servantie, Chief of Communication and Information unit at the EU Enlargement Commission, said that 30% of the Europeans are in favor of Turkey's membership according to recent polls. Servantie remarked that this rate goes down to 6% percent in some countries like Austria while noting that much of the public opinion about Turkey was formed upon stereotypes especially in place where Turkey is not kno... continue »

Turkish and American government officials and business sector representatives met on March 2,3 2011 for the Annual Economic Partnership Commission. Business Track meeting were held on March 2, 2011 and organized by US Chamber of Commerce and American Turkish Council. TUSKON's US representative Hakan Tasci was a panelist on these discussions together with Matt Nolan of Arent Fox. US Chmaber of Commerce Vice President Peter Rashish and ATC CEO James Holmes led the discussion.
The panelists and the meetings overall discussed extensively the ways to enhance and improve US Turkish trade and investment partnership. Deputy Undersecretary Selim Yenel and Assistant ... continue »

Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Çağlayan spoke during a briefing on the “Input Supply Strategy [GİTES],” organized jointly by TUSKON, TOBB,TÜSİAD, TIM and several other sector representatives on March 23.
Çağlayan said Turkey had managed to increase its total share of world steel production from 1.7 percent to 2.1 percent, adding that it currently is the world’s 10th biggest steel producer. He noted that after energy imports, scrap iron and steel are the second most important intermediate goods Turkey imports. “Turkey imported scrap steel and iron valued at $9 billion and $7 billion in 2008 and 2010, respectively. These scrap imports widened the foreign trade d... continue »

For the US secretary of commerce, TUSKON has played a key role in Turkey's growth and its strengthening economic ties with the US. "TUSKON is only six years old, but it has already established itself as a driving force for economic development in Turkey and a trusted partner for businesses around the world. With the opening of your Washington office in the fall of 2007, you have cemented your place as a close friend to the American business community," he said.

US Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke has praised Turkey's noteworthy economic performance in the last few years and its growing economic ties with the US but underlined that the two nations can do... continue »

TUSKON's Brussels office hosted Turkey's Chief Negotiator to the EU Egemen Bagis in an event jointly organized by TUSKON and European Policy Centre on January 27, 2011 at the CPE. Mr. Bagis touched base on issues relating to Turkey's accession bid. Bagis also discussed visas between EU countries and Turkey as well as the Cyprus problem.... continue »

US Assistant Secretary for Economic, Energy and Business Affairs Jose W.Fernandez spoke on Wednesday, January 26 during the Working Luncheon on Opportunities for Economic and Commercial Cooperation between Turkey and the US, which was organized by TUSKON. He noted that the world “applauds Turkey’s economic improvement” and that the country has “turned into a crucial financial actor.” Moreover, Fernandez noted that Turkey could attract investments totaling $1 billion from the American pharmaceuticals sector, but noted that many US companies do not see transparent legal legislation. Fernandez said it is possible to attract these US investments by securing intellec... continue »

Brian Sant Angelo of US EximBank and OPIC (Overseas Private Investment Corporation) Business Development Director Peter Ballinger informed Turkish businessmen and investors about credit opportunities in US in an event titled "Seminar on US Trade and Project Finance Opportunities" and organized by TUSKON. In a speech he gave Mr. Angelo noted that the EximBank works with 180 countries to give credit and emphasized the importance of the renewable energy sector. Mr. Ballinger told the participants that the trade cooperation between US and Turkey has reached 2.5 billion dollars while noting that any company can get credit from OPIC as long as 25% of it is owned by a... continue »

29th American Turkish Council was held in Washington on Oct 17-20, 2010. Second day afternoon, A panel of TUSKON US Executive Director Hakan Tasci, Rahsan Cebe of American Business Forum of Turkey, TABA Chairman Ugur Terzioglu, UC Chamber Vice President Peter Rashish, Ufuk Yilmaz of DEIK, Michael Laly of US Embassy in Ankara, Sam Natapoff of New York discussed the future of Trade and Investment between US and Turkey. Panel tried to identify the possible areas of cooperation and how formation of US Turkey Business Council affect the nature of the business. ... continue »

John Podesta, who served as the White House chief of staff under former US President Bill Clinton for three years, has said Turkey and the US can advance their relationship during Barack Obama's term.
Speaking at a conference titled "New Priorities and Renewed Partnerships: US, Turkey and Global Challenges" organized by TUSKON in İstanbul, he argued that the US's priorities have changed since Obama took office. Podesta is of the view that the bilateral relations have turned into an "extensive partnership" with the Obama administration."George W. Bush could not manage to strengthen the concept of partnership with Turkey for eight years and the improvements recorded during Clinton's term b... continue »

President Gul was speaking before state leaders and foreign ministers of the Balkan countries at a meeting organized by the Federation of Balkan American Associations (FEBA) and the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) in New York on September 22, 2010. President Abdullah Gül on Wednesday, September 22, 2010 expressed his support for the Balkans' integration into NATO and the European Union -- while urging Balkan leaders to use dialogue and diplomacy to solve the region's problems -- at a meeting in New York. Gül said without stability there would not be cooperation in the region and that he believed every Balkan country would be a NATO member one day.

<... continue »

TUSKON organized Annual Chairman's Assemby on Aug 5, 2010 in Istanbul. 150 TUSKON Member Business Association Presidents participated to one day program together with Board Members and H.E. Ali Babacan. Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan has said the floating exchange rate regime that Turkey has been following since 2001 is one of the main pillars of the country’s economic stability and not open to discussion. TUSKON Washington Representative Hakan Tasci and Brussels Representative Serdar Yesilyurt made presentations in this one day work shop. The workshop ended with a Bosphorus Tour where the Presidents had chance to socialize.

“Sound public finance, a floating exchange rate regi... continue »

The Indonesian-Turkish Trade and Investment Forum jointly organized by the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) and the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM)on June 30, 2010 in Istanbul. The Turkish president said investing in Turkey means investing in European and Middle Eastern markets as he spoke before Turkish and Indonesian businesspeople during a business forum yesterday.

“You won’t only reach 72 million people in Turkey when you invest in this country. Any investment in Turkey will reach European markets without any barriers or customs. Countries in Turkey’s immediate vicinity, [such as] Africa and Middle Eastern countries, will also be ... continue »

Yevgeny Primakov was in İstanbul on June 23, 24, 2010 as the guest of the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON). As part of his visit on Thursday Primakov promoted his book, titled “A World Without Russia? A Product of Political Shortsightedness.” Primakov, a former prime minister of Russia, has said Turkey has started to undertake a leadership role in the region thanks to the active foreign policy it has been pursuing over the past couple of years.

Russia appreciates Turkey’s efforts to establish peace in the region, Primakov noted. Emphasizing the importance of a nuclear swap deal reached by Turkey, Brazil and Iran, he expressed disapproval of UN sanc... continue »

Minister of Foreign Trade H.E. Zafer Caglayan paid a visit to US on May 18-21, 2010. In his first day, TABID (Turkish American Business Improvement and Development Council) and TUSKON jointly organized a dinner featuring H.E. Zafer Caglayan. Minister caglayan emphasized the importance of Turkish American Businessmen as natural lobby of Turkey and asked their help to improve the low trade numbers between Turkey and US. TUSKON Board Member Beyhan Nakiboglu told how he started to invest in US 11 years ago and how it paid off already. He also briefly discussed the upcoming World Trade Bridge 2010.

His three days visit was planned to discuss the formation process of US Turkey Business Co... continue »

TUSKON US Executive Director Hakan Tasci participated a panel discussion on US-Turkish Economic Cooperation on March 18, 2010 organized by Turkish American Business Improvement and Development Council of New Jersey (TABID NJ). JP Morgan Chase Vice President Economist Mehmet Ozhabes and Turkish Trade Attache Mr. Ahmet Canli was other speakers in this panel and 250 business people participated to this program from New Jersey. Mr. Tasci emphasized the importance of the social entrepreneurship and how it is important to become a part of the civil society to integrate the the Turkish American business people to the local markets here. Mr. Tasci introduced the upcoming World Trade Bridge Program w... continue »

Speaking during a meeting organized by the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON)and European Policy Center(EPC) in Brussels on March 23, 2010, Babacan said the EU had concerns about the future of some of its member countries’ economies, particularly Greece, but there is no longer such a problem when the issue of Turkey’s integration with the union is on the table.

“Today, the EU cannot tell Turkey that it cannot be accepted as a member because its national income is too low or because it is poor. If they claim that Turkey’s entry would shake the economic balance in the union, then we have the right to ask them to explain what they are planning to do with s... continue »

TUSKON Vice President Ahmet Ciger visited Texas after Atlanta visit. Texas Turkish American Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Houston Partnership, and the City of Houston hosted Mr. Ahmet Ciger in Houston on February 25, 2010. Mr. Ciger spoke about Turkey's economic potential and the opportunities we can develop by partnering Texan business institutions. Jeff Moseley CEO & President, Greater Houston Partnership, Councilman James Rodriguez City of Houston Council Member, Akil Oktem General Consul of Turkey, Ali Cifci Board Member of TTACC participated to this panel and thanked TUSKON delegation for visiting town and they are looking forward to partnering in future business delegations. Grea... continue »

Turkey’s chief EU negotiator on Thursday, December 3, 2009 warned that the Turkish public’s motivation to join the bloc would end if the union imposes more sanctions because of the country’s conflict with Greek Cyprus.In a speech hosted by the Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey, or TUSKON, and the European Policy Center in Brussels, Egemen Bağış said the sanctions already imposed by the European Union were “extreme.”

“We cannot deal with eight negotiation chapters because of a decision the EU made in 2006. We cannot close the remaining others,” he said. “Those are extreme sanctions. Any new sanction by the EU on Cyprus will end the will of the people to join t... continue »

Davutoğlu's remarks came at a meeting jointly organized by the Brussels-based European Policy Center and the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) during his one-day visit to the EU capital on October 2, 2009. Later in the day, he was scheduled to have talks with both José Manuel Barroso, who last month won a parliamentary vote endorsing his second term as European Commission president, as well as with EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn.

With the Cold War over and the Berlin Wall destroyed, no one can now speak of cultural, political and economic walls which separate Europe from Asia, Africa and even from America, Davutoğlu explained. “Establishing the ... continue »

TUSKON's Secretary General Dr. Mustafa Gunay participated a day long conference organized by US Chamber of Commerce on US- Muslim World Engagement and Opportunities for Business World in this engagement process on June 26, 2009. Dr. Gunay discussed the Sectors on the Cutting Edge and asked for cooperation between US and Turkey in third countries to enhance the investment and trade. He said Turkish companies are good risk takers and looking for right international partners to increase the volume and accelerate the regional development. Besides Dr. Gunay, former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim, Citibank CEO Jay Collins, CIPE President John Sullivan and several other advocates o... continue »

European Policy Center (EPC) organized a Policy Dialogue in partnership with TUSKON on March 6, 2009 in Brussels. Minister of Energy Hilmi Guler of Turkey was the keynote speaker of the program. While energy has been a recent focus of conflict between Turkey and the EU, it could become a tool of close cooperation and mutual benefit. Rizanur Meral, President of TUSKON, introducing the first Policy Dialogue in the joint EPC-TUSKON ‘Turkish Insights’ series, emphasised the importance of EU-Turkey collaboration on energy supply issues.

Hilmi Güler, Turkish Minister for Energy and Natural Resources, pointed out that Turkey is the sixth largest economy in Europe and its dynamic growth mea... continue »

Speaking at a luncheon hosted by the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) in Washington on June 4th, 2008, Babacan appeared to be referring to a closure case against his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). He said the Turkish people have chosen democracy and that this choice had been underlined during parliamentary elections on July 22 last year, when the AK Party won a record-high 47 percent of the vote. The AK Party had called for early elections after the military warned against “attempts to undermine the secular nature” of the state in an online statement that later came to be known as the “e-memorandum.”
The AK Party is now facing closure on ... continue »

Just after the European Commission's Turkey Report, Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkiye (TUSKON) and European Policy Center (EPC) organized a joint workshop in Brussels on November 7th 2007. In his keynote speech Minister of State in Charge of Treasury H.E. Mehmet Simsek emphasized his Kurdish origin and said that "PKK cannot represent Kurdish people". He is from Batman, a small city in the south east of Turkiye. He was suspicious about the timing of the latest PKK violence in Turkiye and warned the audience that "whenever an economic reform process is successful and the democratization process successful, this kind of events were organized by the terrorist group PKK".... continue »

The Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) held an important meeting in Washington at a time when the US Congress was discussing whether to take the Armenian genocide resolution to a vote in the full House.

TUSKON Chairman Rızanur Meral presented Economy Minister Mehmet Şimşek a picture with traditional Turkish motifs embossed on it. In his speech at the opening ceremony of TUSKON’s Washington office on Friday, Economy Minister Mehmet Şimşek focused on the importance of relations between the two countries.

Şimşek said that the United States has the greatest economy in the world. “But Turkey is also a key power,” he said. Both countries want a unit... continue »